Is the right to take industrial action under threat?

FOR.U.M. would have expected the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability – CRPD (who is neither the employer nor part of the industrial directive) to identify its role as a catalyst to bring together both MUT and the school to find a resolution in the interest of both parties and the students with special needs, rather than taking the MUT to court.

FOR.U.M. is disappointed to note that the right of industrial action was being threatened by court action rather than by going through the appropriate channels established by the Employment and Industrial Relations Act. As a matter of fact, this is the second injunction in less than 30 days.

Such actions will not resolve the issue but rather delay action, unless both parties agree to either find a solution or else submit a trade dispute to the Industrial Tribunal for a decision.

Unfortunately, in Malta, one prefers litigation rather than conciliation or mediation to reach a resolution. However, litigation is a zero-sum game, having always a winner and loser while on the other hand with mediation and conciliation there is a potential of reaching a resolution with all parties being winners.

As a side note, FOR.U.M. notes that in the case of MCAST, both teachers and students are the real losers. With the withdrawal by MCAST of the prohibition injunction against MUT to hold industrial action, MCAST showed that it was not comfortable with an imminent decision by the Maltese Law Courts and it has used the judicial system to delay the industrial action, which is a right of employees. It is a shame that a major educational institution in Malta makes use of such tactics by denying employees the use of the appropriate tools of collective bargaining rather than give an example of proper collective negotiations and proper recognition to teaching professionals.

FOR.U.M. believes that this is not leading to a healthy industrial climate.